STOLEN || 18+ (Monsters #3)

.54. My heart is a fool.

. . .

Leyla

I often wondered what would happen if what my father did to me got out. I wondered what everyone's reaction would be.

Would they call me a survivor as my sister did?

Survivor.

I never felt like that, and neither did I want to feel like that. I wasn't a survivor. No. I had given up. I had not survived what happened to me. I was alive, and that was it. Everything else was taken from me.

Birthdays were always depressing to me.

On birthdays, my father made sure I was miserable in every way possible. He'd take my body and mind away from me. The excitement of my birthdays had left me as soon as my mother died and soon it turned into dread.

I could not remember being as happy on a birthday as I was today.

Happy with your captors.

Captors who had taken me from my family but had saved me by doing that. Captors who had stolen me from some other man and were not keeping me safe from him. Captors who made me feel things I had never felt.

Captors who seemed to be as broken as me.

I read between the lines, like every other poetry maniac. The Valentinos did not let their mask slip, but I had noticed many things on their face today when their mask had cracked just a little, making the agony behind it visible.

Their sister...

She had been given away when she was what...three or four?

And them, Fabiano and Giovanni, they had been given away to toughen up. What in the world did that mean?

I had seen the numerous scars on them. There were too many to count. Too many to even be seen in mere minutes.

I laid down on my bed, pulling a pillow to my cheek.

I felt Giovanni slide into the bed, his warm body enveloping me.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked, pulling my body against his easily, his arm heavy on my waist.

I stared into the beautiful city shining below through the window. "Everything here is so beautiful," I said. "It feels weird."

"Why?"

"I...I never expected to see anything," I whispered. "I always thought my father would make me marry someone for good relations, someone as horrible as him, and a beautiful house would become my prison."

Giovanni let out a breath. "You deserve the world and more."

"You think that?"

"I believe that," he whispered. "You deserve the world and I plan on giving that to you. Giving you everything that you want."

"I..." I gulped. "Everything I want...I want to take it myself."

He stilled for a moment, then he pulled me closer if that was even possible. "You can do what you want."

"Except leave."

"Except put yourself in danger. Cassian Testa is not a man who'll give up soon."

"And my only shot at protection is you."

"Who would you rather have protected you?"

"Who'd protect me from you?"

He stilled. "You don't need protection from me."

I let out a breath. "I know you won't hurt me I just..."

"You just expect me to hurt you. Your mind does but not your heart."

"My heart is a fool."

"And it is right," he turned me around, tucking me to his bare chest. He muttered things in Italian in my ear, running a hand through my hair.

"Giovanni?"

"Yes?"

"I want to talk to my sisters."

He sighed and reached for the nightstand.

"Alright." He scrolled through his contacts and called the number which had 'Olivia' written on it. Why was he not calling Gabriella directly? Did they take her phone away?

"Hey, Livy. Leyla wants to talk to her sisters."

"Okay. One sec," I heard Olivia's soft voice and then her opening some door.

"It's your sister."

Gabriella took the phone. "Leyla?"

I took the phone from Giovanni, sitting up and pressing the cool surface to my ear after removing it from the speaker. "Hey, Gabby."

"Are the colonizers around you?"

"We are half colonizer, you know that, right?"

"I don't claim our father's side, Leyla. You're old as fuck today. What's your age now - ninety?"

I smiled. "Yeah. I ate the cake with my only remaining molar."

We had eaten a cake. Mostly me and Fabiano.

"Happy Birthday, Leyla," she said softly.

I blinked rapidly. "Thanks, Gabby."

"I..." She sighed. "I hate it without you. It's unfair."

I sighed. "Things are bad, Gabby. I will meet you, soon."

"If your captors allow," she hissed. "Allow. Does that word not make you want to burn the damn world down? I don't want you to have to ask for permission from anyone. You deserve to be free."

I was aware that Giovanni was listening to every word I was saying.

"I do," I whispered. "I don't always get what I deserve."

"We can't live like this."

"You're safe, Gabby. You and Astrid are safe. That is what matters for now."

"Yeah, yeah. It's hard to live with these people, you know? Xerxes is a grump. Ashton is always reading. Zavier is too fucking scary and Olivia pisses me the fuck off."

"I seriously don't understand why you still hate her. She saved you."

"She could have saved us both years back if she had her head out of her ass."

"She does not owe us anything."

"Whatever. Do you want to talk to Astrid?"

I rook in a feel breath. "Yes, please."

Gabby handed the phone to Astrid who cried as soon as she heard my voice. I hushed her gently, assuring her I was fine and that I was going to meet her soon. She kept sobbing till Gabriella managed to get her to stop.

It felt like someone had twisted my heart. I was miserable back home, yes, but I had those two and they made everything bearable.

"You'll be with me very soon," I said to her. "I love you, Astrid. I'll find my way back to you."

. . .

Gonna add some 🌶 to the next few chapters.